_________________go firmly to the window
and listen with deep emotion,
but not with the whining, the pleas of the coward;
listen-your final pleasure-to the voices,
to the exquisite music of that strange procession

To be honest, my biggest issue with Maria is that she is getting ridiculous amounts of WC's... and each time her game shows that she does not deserve them.

And then I see someone like Bencic not getting in the MD as she played Fed Cup (and therefore could not participate to the qualies).

I saw the 2nd and 3rd set vs Niculescu; It really was poor play...

She turns 31... older than all the greats when they retired and already were over their top (Venus and Serena not included). Physically and talent-wise, Maria is no Serena or Venus (and she is no Graf, Selen or Henin too). So it is not realistic to expect that she will ever get back to her best on a consistent basis. If she is lucky, she may get close to it for a full week (and win an event), but seeing how she struggles against mediocre players for 10 months: it is not a good indication

_________________"Never argue with an idiot - they take you down to their level and then beat you on experience"

"Don't wrestle with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig actually likes it"

@ Pyotr: Many Sharapova fans entertained the idea that Serena was doping, reason why Sharapova couldn't beat her.
it turned out Sharapova was the one doping.
So it's fair game for Serena fans to go after the Sugar lady. Sort of payback time.
Sorry but that's how the fat lady sings.

I understand, but are we really going to pretend like this is anything new?ATP & WTA alike, multiple Slam Champ, former #1, one of the most popular....she'll get as many WC's as she wants or needs. Didn't start with Maria and willnot end with her.

@Ace2Ace

Yeah, old type saying "I do the same thing, but they're worse". Sounds like politics, tit for tat.

Darn it!!!!! How can you be so spot on?!? Let's talk about talent: Maria is in her 30s and unlike the WS, her movement does not afford her to scramble on the court to the degree that the sisters do. Henin also (eventhough I suspect that she was using something as well), Seles had the advantage of stepping into the court and hitting with angles regularly and deeply and with pace. Maria hits with pace but it's too much down the center which can be countered easily.

She shouldn't be given WCs if she's done nothing to deserve them. The WTA existed before her and will exist long after she's gone. It's likely that when she sees a top player she will lose after playing such tough matches against so-so players.